Originally Hanzo Hasashi, the man who would one day become Scorpion was one of the best warriors in the Shirai Ryu Ninja Clan, who bestowed the nickname Scorpion unto him out of respect for his fighting skills and talent for assassinations. Hasashi became a ninja to better take care of his wife and son, but after their deaths at the hands of their rival Lin Kuei clan, Scorpion vowed revenge.

Now, Scorpion is a black and yellow garbed, hell-spawned spectre, inexorably seeking vengeance against those responsible for the destruction of his clan and the death of his family. Despite the fact that Scorpion has previously allied himself with the forces of evil (when promised either a means of resurrection on or the chance to inflict his wrath against those who butchered his clan), he is not inherently evil. In fact, Scorpion has, at times, indirectly assisted the game's protagonists, although his reasons for doing so always ultimately serve to benefit his own motives.

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Scorpion was hired by the wizard Quan Chi to find a scroll in the Himalayas, but unknown to him another ninja, of the Lin Kuei, was also hired to find the scroll: Sub-Zero. Believing him to be evil, Sub-Zero fought Scorpion, and used his ice blade to decapate the rival ninja. Transported to the Netherrealm, Scorpion and Sub-Zero would fight once more, again resulting in his defeat. This time he was presented with a choice- he could return to earth for revenge or he could spend an eternity in Hell. Scorpion returned to take vengenace on the man who killed him, but returned to discover his family and the Shirai Ryu clan butchered.

Two years after his death, Scorpion entered the Mortal Kombat tournament in order to kill Sub-Zero. While he was forced to wait through the tournament processes he would finally catch the Lin Kuei Ninja off guard shortly after Goro's defeat at the hands of Liu Kang. The undead ninja brutally beat Sub-Zero before finally burning him to death. After completing his task, Scorpion returned to the Netherrealm immediatly in a blast of fire and ash.

Many of the techniques used by Scorpion here would carry over for the rest of his life (lives?), such as his infamous spear, hellfire casting and the "toasty" fatality, where he revealed his skull face to his foe before lighting them ablaze.

As he resided in the Netherrealm, word reached Scorpion that a new tournament was to take place in Outworld, and that Sub-Zero was participating in the fight. Feeling cheated and angry that his killer was once more roaming the land alive, Scorpion returned and followed the Lin Kuei to the tournament. He soon learned that this Sub-Zero was not his killer, but rather his killer's younger brother. To atone for slaying his kin, Scorpion vowed to protect Sub-Zero instead. But Sub-Zero would never know this, or the reason behind it.

After Shao Khan's invasion of Earthrealm released him, Scorpion returned with renewed life. While he tried to remain neutral but was eventually recruited by the emporer of Outworld. His alliance with Shao Khan quickly ended when he learned that Sub-Zero was one of the warriors defending Earthrealm, making them enemies, and he turned on the Emporer, aiding the warriors of Earthrealm in the final battle against Shao Khan and his forces. With the defeat of the emporer of Outworld, Earth returned to normal- including the Netherrealm, where Scorpion was returned to.

Unable to rest in piece, Scorpion is approached by the powerul wizard Quan Chi once again, this time to reveal that the murderer of his wife and son was the current Sub-Zero. This new information filled Scorpion with rage, and he set off to kill the Lin Kuei warrior. During their confrontation, Sub-Zero claimed this fact was false, only to be confirmed by Quan Chi himself, who revealed it was actually he who had killed Scorpion's family. The sorcerer attempted to transport Scorpion back to the Netherrealm. Thinking quickly, the spectre ran towards the sorcerer, taking Quan Chi with him.

For as long as Scorpion resided in the Netherrealm his powers increased, whereas Quan Chi's decreased. Thus, Scorpion spent the whole time between Mortal Kombat 4 and Deadly Alliance hunting, torturing and brutally beating the sorcerer. Desperate, Quan Chi allied himself with two deadly Oni, demons that reside in the Neatherrealm. His allies, Drahmin and Moloch tried to keep Scorpion at bay. While they fought multiple times, Quan Chi escaped the Netherrealm.

Tracking his families killer back to Earthrealm, Scorpion followed Quan Chi to the palace of Shang Tsung. Arriving in the palace expecting to find the sorcerer, Scorpion was instead ambushed by Oni Drahmin and Moloch. They brutally beat him before casting him into the Soulnado, believing it would finally kill the ninja.

During this timeframe, Scorpion began to wield dual "ninja swords", which he used to slice enemies from a medium distance during his hunt for the sorcerer Quan Chi. He also adopted two diffrent styles of fighting- Hapkido, which focused more on kicks and an open hand approach, and Pi Gua which was more dangerous and used his spear much more.

While he was certain to be ripped apart by Quan Chi and Shang Tsung's "soulnado", Scorpion managed to escape into the void, where he encountered the fabeled Elder Gods, whom he never believed existed. The experience forever changed the ninja. While he was with the Elder Gods he witnessed the death of Raiden and Onaga, the Dragon King's, re-appearance. Scorpion was given immense powers and made the champion of the Elder Gods, and was sent on a mission- Onaga had to die before he could unmake all the realms. He accepted on one condition- the Gods revive his fallen kin. At some point during his mission he batteled Shujinko in the name of the Elder Gods and lost. He finally cornered the Dragon King at Nexus where he murdered him.

With Onaga the Dragon King dead, the Elder Gods followed up on their promise to return his clan to life- they brought back the Shirai Ryu clan as hellspawned warriors, the same as Scorpion. Enraged at what he perceived as their betrayal, Scorpion vowed to gain vengeance on the Elder Gods by removing the two things crucial to their plans to prevent Armageddon - the Edenian brothers Taven and Daegon.

During Taven's final march to confront his brother, he was assaulted by the hellspawn Shirai Ryu. While the half-god defeated the undead ninja with little difficulty, he was slowed down, allowing Scorpion to use his powers to summon massive flaming skulls to fight him. Taven continues to fight off Scorpion's minions, eventually confronting the ninja himself. Scorpion and Taven's fight was brutal, but in the end Taven won and Scorpion was left defeated.

In his ending, Scorpion defeated the massive flaming monster Blaze. As the warrior's fire extinguished, the Shirai Ryu clan was fully restored to life. Vowing alliegence to the new master of their ninja clan, Scorpion is reunited with his wife and son. Unfortunatly, Quan Chi appears and kidnaps Scorpion's child, leaving the warrior enraged. He ordered the Shirai Ryu to chase down rhe treacherous sorcerer, refusing to give up untill his son was returned to him.

After Raiden was unable to prevent the Armageddon, he sent images of his past to himself in an alternate timeline during the era of the first Mortal Kombat tournament, hoping he could prevent the events from unfolding poorly once again. One of the earliest images the appears in Raiden's mind is that of Scorpion murdering Bi-Han, the first Sub-Zero and his rebirth as Noob Saibot, which Raiden decides must be stopped. During the first tournament of Mortal Kombat, Scorpion demanded that he be allowed to fight Sub-Zero, but the arrogant and brash Shaolin Monk Kung Lao challenged the undead ninja instead. Scorpion easily defeated the Monk, but showed mercy by sparring his life. Shang Tsung then ordered him to fight Nightwolf, who attempts to redirect Scorpion's rage to no avai before being knocked out of the tournament. Shang Tsung was impressed by Scorpion's skill, and decided he would get his fight with Sub-Zero soon enough. Raiden appears and tells Scorpion that he must not kill Sub-Zero, and manages to begin convincing Scorpion that if he spares the Lin Kuei warrior, the thunder god can appeal to have the Shirai Ryu brought back by the Elder Gods.

When Scorpion enetered the palace, he began to be harassed by the Lin Kuei assassins Cyrax and Sektor, who felt that Scorpion's brazen demands for Sub-Zero were misplaced and that he would join his clan. Scorpion kept his calm, claiming that his clan may once more walk the earth, which provoked a push from Cyrax. Shang Tsung decided that Scorpion would fight the two, and Scorpion quickly curbstomped both of them in a two-on-one battle. Just as he finished them off, Sub-Zero entered the palace, showing great disrespect for the memory of the Shirai Ryu, which made Scorpion snap and drag Sub-Zero to the Netherrealm, where he began to violently beat the Lin Kuei. After his victory, Scorpion hesitated to kill Sub-Zero because of Raiden's promise, but Quan Chi made his appearance, showing Scorpion a fabricated past where Sub-Zero and the Lin Kuei butchered everyone in Scorpion's clan, including women and children. Despite Sub-Zero's protests that they were lies, Scorpion lost his temper and burned the flesh from Sub-Zero's bones before ripping his skull and spine out and shattering it on the floor of the palace. Scorpion hung his head in shame for not having the self-control to save his clan, and teleported away, though he returned briefly near the tournament's end just long enough so he and Quan Chi could be bested by Liu Kang.

During the second Mortal Kombat tournament ran by Shao Kahn, Scorpion encountered Sub-Zero again, discovering it to be the younger brother of the Lin Kuei he had already killed. Scorpion decided it was meaningless to him, and that Sub-Zero didn't have an honor worth remembering. The two fought, but Sub-Zero began to gain the upper hand and eventually defeated Scorpion, preparing to kill the ninja. Scorpion was saved when cyber Lin Kuei appeared and teleported Sub-Zero away to undergo the process to become a Cyber Ninja, removing his personality to turn him into a robotic slave. Seeing his chance, Scorpion escaped back to the Netherrealm where he continued to serve Quan Chi. When Shao Kahn launched his invasion of Earthrealm, Raiden came to talk with Quan Chi, but was forced to go through Scorpion to do so. The dissapointed thunder god remarked on his dissapproval of his servitude to the sorcerer and quickly defeated the ninja before he teleported away as Quan Chi made his appearance to hear Raiden out.

In Scorpion's non-canon ending, he returns to the ruins of the civilization of the Shirai Ryu, where he is greeted by the spirits of his ancestors. They inform their only remaining member of the true events that occured when they fell and who was truly responsible- Quan Chi. Scorpion hunted the sorcerer down and fought him, only gaining the upper hand when his clan's spirits grabbed Quan Chi and immobilized him, allowing Scorpion to kill him, finally avenging the deaths of his clan and relieving him of the burden that not even the slaying of Shao Kahn could provide.

Scorpion first strikes during a battle between Liu Kang and Sub-Zero, interrupting their battle. While Scorpion is being beaten by the Earthrealm champion, he suddenly is switched places with the superhero the Flash in the DC Universe. Weakened from his fight and the transportation he is confronted and captured by Batman, who takes him to the Batcave for study.

Scorpion escaped and later brought Sub-Zero to the Netherrealm and the two battle, freeing Quan Chi. Quan Chi sent Sub-Zero back to warn Raiden that alliances needed to be formed to stop the world merging, and then he sent Scorpion to look for the Princess Kitana. Scorpion went to Gotham, where he confronted the Joker who foolishly tried to take on the ninja spectre and was thrashed by him. Not finding the princess there, Scorpion ventured to Wonder Woman's Island. She wished him gone and refused his prescense, causing the two to fight, eventually leaving Scorpion the victor.

Scorpion then went to Metropolis, where he was met by Superman. Annoyed with the Man of Steel, Scorpion turned out to have an advantage due to Superman's weakness from magic. After the fight, an enraged Kitana appeared and Scorpion, with no other choice, beat her unconscious. Quan Chi then appeared and ordered Scorpion to take her to Raiden. Awake, Kitana informed all the Kombatants of the being known as Dark Khan, who was the focal point of the worlds merging.

Scorpion teamed up with Shang Tsung and Baraka to take on Captain Marvel in the Netherealm only to be defeated. Scorpion was then forced to work with Sub-Zero, and they made their way to the Wu Shi Academy, where he confronted Lex Luthor and Catwoman. Though Sub-Zero froze Catwoman in place, he and Scorpion both were defeated by Luthor. In the final battle against the D.C. heroes, Scorpion managed to defeat The Flash before he himself fell. Scorpion returned to his own dimension shortly after Superman and Raiden defeated Dark Khan, with minimal injury.

Series creator Ed Boon has made it no secret that Scorpion is his favorite character in the series, and he provides the character's voice himself. Scorpion's line "GET OVER HERE" is one of the most iconic sounds in gaming history, and has remained since the original game. Scorpion appears in the first Mortal Kombat film, portrayed by Chris Casamassa. He works for Shang Tsung and the forces of Outworld, and he faces off against Johnny Cage. The two have a hard fight, and eventually Scorpion attempts to perform his "toasty" fatality, pulling off his mask to breath hellfire, but Cage dodges and kills the ninja. Oddly his spear was changed from a simple blade on a string to an organic snake-like creature that exits his arm through a slit in his wrist. Casamassa returns for the role of Scorpion during the TV show Mortal Kombat: Konquest. The seductive Vorpax guided Shang Tsung to a hidden recess in Outworld's cobalt mines which held a mystical emperor scorpion called the Scorpio. Shang Tsung unleashed the warrior soul trapped within it, which possessed Takeda, a guard for the Reyland family. Kung Lao was forced to fight the warrior and sent him to Hell once Scorpion killed his love, Jen Reyland. Scorpion was later resurrected by Shao Kahn, and built an organization of assassins for the Emperor, of whom Siro's brother was briefly a member. His last known deed was a reluctant partnership with the Lin Kuei to kill Kung Lao. It dissolved with the deaths of people close to him and Sub-Zero, and the two warriors ferociously battled each other to a draw, before the intervention of Kung Lao forced Scorpion to flee. He employed the living hand creature from the films rather than a spear. He briefly reappeared in the film's sequel, this time played by J. J. Perry, where he kidnaps Kitana after fighting Sub-Zero to a draw. Scorpion was to return in the third Mortal Kombat film, the role reprised by Casamassa, but the movie's place in development hell has likely left this film cancelled.

Scorpion appears in the second episode of the cartoon Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm, entitled Sting of the Scorpion. He leads an army of undead warriors and ninjas to invade and conquer Earthrealm, and is confronted by Sub-Zero. He defeats his rival, but is in turn defeated by the champion of Earthrealm- Liu Kang. After he is defeated Scorpion is returned to "the land of souls". He also appears in the comic series, published by Malibu Comics. Despite the game's portrayl of Scorpion being neutral, Scorpion is presented as a force for great evil in the comics. He is killed by Kitana who prevents him from executing an uncouncious Sub-Zero.

Scorpion had two action figures, one based on his appearance in Mortal Kombat: Deception, which came with his two swords and spear. The figure was reworked into a Reptile and Noob Saibot figure later on. He also had a comic-con exclusive version of the figure, representing his "Toasty" fatality, with an unmasked head and keeps all the accessories from the original.